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29 December 2009

Tonight's the last program of year and we celebrate it with a News Round Up of the major Latino stories of 2009 as well as News Headlines from the Americas. We include a special highlight on Cuban eye doctors doing healing work in Bolivia, and the poetry of prize-winning Cuban poet Pablo Armando Fernandez. We cruise through the Streets of Aztlan with musica and a calendar of upcoming events. ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

22 December 2009

Tonight's program leaves the solstice darkness to begin moving again towards the light. We bring you News Headlines from the Americas, the word about education budget cuts fro the Streets of Aztlan, domestic workers in San Francisco organizing for equal treatment, and a discussion graffiti art in Bogota, Colombia. We celebrate our survival with musica, poetry and a calendar of upcoming events.

Our guest Cito Hernandez will discuss the effects of holiday stress on Latino immigrants and everyone. You'll hear the word on the Streets of Aztlan, a poem to la Virgen de Guadalupe, and the Music and views of La Orquesta La Moderna Tradición with a ticket give-away, and hot tips on upcoming New Year celebration events.

08 December 2009

Tonight's program includes musica, News Headlines from the Americas and a discussion of El Salvador's emerging historical memory project with Carlos Mauricio of the "Stop the Impunity" project in El Salvador. From the Streets of Aztlan we'll learn about the education hikes in Watsonville and we'll speak with Aurora Castellanos, a San Francisco youth organizer about the World Bridges program visit to Guatemala. We'll bring you laughter and smiles with comedian Bill Santiago to fortify you against the darkness of winter.

01 December 2009

Tonight's program includes interviews and songs from this year's upcoming Encuentro del Canto Popular with a concert ticket give-away. We'll hear News Headlines from the Americas with a focus on Honduras and welcome our guest, Joel Aguiar, the new director of the Day Laborer Program of the La Raza Centro Legal. We'll stroll down the Streets of Azltan and catch up on the latest events on the La Raza Community Calendar. Listen and enjoy.

Host and Cuban music historian Emiliano Echeverria is joined by Luis Medina of KPFA's Con Sabor to present a special interview with members of Septeto Nacional, discussing the group's history since its formation in 1927, and its original founder, Ignacio Piñero.

Septeto Nacional was finally allowed to enter the United States and bring their classic Cuban son to enthusiastic audiences in New York, Miami and California. Their performances at Yoshi's Jazz Club in San Francisco quickly sold out. Other performances have been added, but are going fast!

The program will also feature a jam session in the KPFA Studios recorded by our own C-Tone with members of el Septeto joined by Bay Area Cuban son-fusion group Pellejo Seco, with special guest Tito Gonzalez.

'Radio Cuba Canta' broadcasts Saturday 9pm Pacific in the San Francisco Bay and Northern California (12 midnight Eastern). For more information about the upcoming program and others, visit: RadioCubaCanta.blogspot.com

Produced and hosted by Emiliano Echeverria
Associate producer & broadcast operator: Clay "C'Tone" Leander
Community Calendar produced by Ron Flores

24 November 2009

Tonight we bring you News Headlines from the Americas and highlighting the conflict in Honduras. We’ll talk with author John Ross about his latest book on Mexico City, “El Monstruo.” We celebrate the long-awaited arrival of Cuban musicians to the US with Septeto Nacional; will hear the music of the Mexican Revolution through the Streets of Aztlan; and salute the 40th Anniversary of the American Indian Movement’s take-over of Alcatraz Island, and the continuing struggle of all Indigenous people of the Americas to protect their human rights and the environment.

10 November 2009

Tonight's program includes winning songs from this years' Latin Grammys! We'll also hear news headlines from the Americas with a spotlight on Colombia. The Streets of Aztlan brings us an interview with Miguel Perez on Honduras and local author, Concha Delgado Gaitan speaks about her new book, "Prickly Cactus" about the road to wellness. We'll also hear a calendar of upcoming cultural events. Enjoy!

03 November 2009

Tonight's program includes News Headlines from the Americas, with a report on Colombia and a commentary by Saul Landau on US/Cuba relations. On the local scene, we'll hear about health policy and word on the Streets of Aztlan with musica y mucho mas to get you through the dark November night.

31 October 2009

This month's Radio Cuba Canta has a potpurri that we hope you will enjoy. Beginning with some musica guajira with Nico Saquito, then we move to some great Conjuntos like Casino, Kubavana, and some nice surprises. Later we get into a Charanga vein then on to some live airchecks from the 1950s building up to one of the most important descargas ever recorded. Following the Community Music Calender, we conclude the show with some great contemporary Cuban music.

27 October 2009

Tonight we hear News Headlines from the Americas, look at US/Cuba relations including a poem by political prisoner Antonio Guerrero of the Cuban 5, as well as great musica from Radio Cuba Canta. We prepare for Dia de los Muertos with the initiator of the Bay Area community celebrations, artist Rene Yanez. We cruise through the Streets of Aztlan and a calendar of upcoming events.

Mask making demonstration by Felipe Horta from Michoacán, MexicoSugar Skulls by Miguel Quintana from Puebla, MexicoPan de Muertos y ChocolateDay of the Dead limited edition prints on-viewPosada and Manilla's merchandise available for sale from the private collection of New World Prints.

"The Grand Cemetery of J.G. Posada and M. Manilla CalaverasA Memoriam for the Dead" Curated by James Nikas

The calaveras or skeletons, like "La Catrina" that we see during Dia de los Muertos may have their roots in the ancient customs of the Mexican people but the worldwide migration of calaveras and modern popularization is due mainly to two Mexican printmakers, José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) and Manuel Manilla (1830-1895). While based in Mexico City, Posada and Manilla created thousands of images to illustrate publications including the "penny press" broadsides that were commonly used to communicate news and editorials of the day. These broadsides were very popular around the dates of Dia de los Muertos as they would feature calavera images often satirizing some current event or person and equally, depicting calaveras in life mocking activities, reminding readers of their common destiny. Mexican muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco would later give credit to Posada for his inspiration and influence. The Chicano art movement in the USA as well as much modern art throughout the Americas, even rock and roll's Grateful Dead all carry the influence of Posada and Manilla's work.

This exhibition, "Bring Back the Dead: The Grand Cemetery of J.G. Posada and M. Manilla Calaveras -A Memoriam for the Dead", provides a rarely seen sampling of the many calavera images in the original broadsides illustrated by Posada and Manilla. It is a memoriam to them for their contribution and influence on generations of artists. ¡Viva Posada y Manilla!

Related Events

Day of the DeadA collaboration between MCCLA and SF Symphony

On November 1, 2009 at 2 pm at Davies Symphony Hall, the San Francisco Symphony and MCCLA will celebrate Día De Los Muertos with a program of pre-concert activities (food and festivities), followed by a concert led by Alondra de la Parra. A group of large paper mache animals that were created during a series of workshops held at MCCLA and taught by Collette Crutcher will be displayed at the Davies Symphony Hall lobby. Altars created during an altar making workshop for kids at MCCLA taught by Elena Finestone and a collection of MCCLA Day of the Dead prints will also be on display at the Davies Symphony Hall lobby during the festivities.

Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA) was established in 1977 by artists and community activists with a shared vision to promote, preserve and develop the Latino cultural arts that reflect the living tradition and experiences of the Chicano, Mexican, Central and South American, and the Caribbean people.

20 October 2009

As evening approaches darker and cooler, La Raza Chronicles offers you a warm Bienvenidos with News Headlines from the Americas with Vanessa Bohm, and a commentary on Honduras by Andres Thomas Conteris. We feature Carmen Andrea Rivera on the musical world of reggaetón and Nina Serrano talks with honored poet Rafael Jesus Gonzalez, and we stroll through the Streets of Aztlan

29 August 2009

This week, Radio Cuba Canta broadcasts a special tribute commemorating the 90th Birthday of "El Barbaro del Ritmo", Benny Moré!

Broadcast veteran and Cuban music historian Emiliano Echeverria will present his rare and vintage collection of Benny Moré, from his earliest recordings with the Conjunto Matamoros in 1945 to his final recording made in his home a few weeks before his death in 1963.

We will feature Benny with popular orchestras of the late 40s and early 50s in Mexico and Cuba, including Rafael de Paz, Mariano Mercerón, Conjunto Humberto Cane, Ernesto Duarte, and, of course, Damaso Perez Prado. In addition, we will feature Benny’s Banda Gigante in both studio and live settings, as well as seldom heard recordings from early in Benny Moré’s career.

Produced and hosted by Emiliano Echeverria
Associate producer & broadcast operator: Clay "C'Ton" Leander
Community Calendar produced by Ron Flores

25 August 2009

Tonight's program features the celebration of the Xicana Moratorium, historic musica of Benny More from Emiliano about his upcoming special on Radio Cuba Canta, and a tasty discussion with latina entrepreneur Paul Tejada about her Chilean empanadas. We offer news headlines from the Americas, the word from the Streets of Aztlan and an upcoming events calendar. Check out our website for more information, fotos and other interesting items. www.larazachronicles.org

22 August 2009

The first 2009 LSB Candidate Forum was recorded live at KPFA and aired between 12 pm and 6 pm August 22nd, 2009. We celebrated a great turn out - with 27 of the 29 listener candidates running for the LSB participating in person or via phone. We had 4 moderators and many calls from the public. Here are the 6 hours of candidate forum. Four or 5 candidates participate in each hour.

10 July 2009

On Monday July 13th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin confirmation hearings for the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the first Latina justice on the nation's highest court.

For more on this historic nomination, Carmen Andrea Rivera interviews Maria Blanco, Executive Director for the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute at the University of California at Berkeley. This extended interview includes a discussion of Sotomayor's most important cases, as well as analysis and criticism.

Following is the text of an email from Silvio Rodríguez (English, then Spanish original),regarding the failure of the United States State Department to issue him an entry visa. Rodríguez, Cuba's premier singer-songwriter and co-founder of that country's New Song Movement, was to perform at Pete Seeger's 90th birthday concert in New York today, Sunday,May 3.

Rodríguez' entry into the United States to perform might have been a major breakthrough following years of wrong-headed U.S. policy towards Cuban artists and professionals. Instead, the State Department, while not explicitly denying the visa, allowed it to be tied up such that it was not approved, at least not in time (as of this writing) for the very performance for which it was solicited.

You can help. Take a moment and call the U.S. State Department and express your sentiment that Cuban artists be allowed to enter the United States to share their work with appreciative and deserving American audiences. Tell them that it is an embarrassment that an artist of the stature of Silvio Rodríguez be denied entry into the country to join hands with Pete Seegeralong with the dozens of other performers who joined with him today.

Thanks to Bill Martínez for all the work involved in the visa solicitation.

Message from Silvio Rodríguez to his sister in Havana, also his manager:

Today is May 1 and it is 8:40pm in Paris. I just connected online to the United States Embassy site in France, where information is published regarding visa solicitations. My visa application is listed as being in process, the same status that it has maintained since I made the application. Today being the day that I was to fly to New York, and given that the visa has still not appeared, tomorrow I will leave instead for Havana.

You can pass this message to Pete's grandson Tao, and to Bill the attorney, along with my gratitude for their efforts as well as my sorrow resulting from the lack of respect shown by the State Department to them for having invited me to celebrate the 90th birthday of our dear friend Pete Seeger, living legend of North American song.

I believe that the attitude of the State Department is very contradictory, given the desire expressed by President Obama to bring the United States closer to Cuba. As a Cuban cultural worker, I continue to feel blockaded and discriminated against by other governments. Hopefully this will truly change someday.

25 April 2009

In honor of KPFA FM's 60th Anniversary and an "All Day Music" broadcast, Cuba Canta offers a retrospective popouri spanning a century of Cuban Music, from Danzon to Son, Mambo to Mozambique, and Trova to Timba.

Also concerning recent developments in President Barack Obama's administration dealing with US - Cuba political relations, Emiliano speaks with San Francisco-based Cuban visa attorney Bill Martinez on the latest challenges and opportunities for US-Cuba music and cultural exchanges.

Produced by Emiliano Echeverria With KPFA Music Director Luis Medina, Con SaborCommunity Calendar produced by Ron FloresEngineer C'Tone

31 March 2009

Happy Cesar Chavez' Bdy! Tonight's program brings News from the Americas and a special report on Bolivia featuring guest, filmmaker Tupac Saavedra. We salute International Womens' Month and stroll through the Streets of Aztlan to hear about the upcoming festivities for the Cesar Chavez celebrations. Guest, Peruvian poet and visual artist, Adrian Arias, discusses his new works and the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts with a calendar of Bay Area Latino upcoming events.

24 March 2009

Tonight we salute International Womens' Month, bring News from the Americas, a Salvadoran election observer report and a poem for Archbishop Romero by Rafael Jesus Gonzalez. We discuss the work of local youth from Destiny Arts with our guest, Sarah Crowell and stroll through the Streets of Aztlan and the upcoming Cesar Chavez celebrations. We'll hear about Culture Clash's latest theatrics, "Water and Power." All this spiced with musica.

17 March 2009

La Raza Chronicles sizzles the airwaves tonight as we open the phone lines to call-ins. Listeners are invited to ask any question about sex to our guests: expert sexual health educators, Anita Lopez and Tino Ratliff from the New Generation Health Center will receive your calls beginning at 7:30pm. We include romantic Latin music and poetry to stimulate your questions.

We'll also salute International Womens' Month with Betita Martinez' retelling the tale of a heroic Chicana, as well as bringing you the latest headlines from the Americas and a calendar of upcoming cultural events.

10 March 2009

Tonight we celebrate the Mexican Indigenous New Year and International Womens' Month. We hear News of the Americas with a special focus on El Salvador and the upcoming elections with guests: Diana Martinez and Eva Lewis. We'll hear the poetry of the Salvadoran national poet Roque Dalton and stroll through the Streets of Aztlan to learn about the upcoming United Farm Workers Union march and the story of the union co-founder Dolores Huerta - all spiced with musica.

03 March 2009

Tonight's program celebrates La Mujer in poetry, song and history as well as the Indigenous Mexican new year. We also bring you news from the Americas without borders and a calendar of upcoming cultural events. Our stroll through the Streets of Aztlan brings us on-the-ground news reports from this weekend's gathering in Arizona demanding respect for immigrants. We end with a medley of songs by Cuban women. ¡Que viva la mujer!

28 February 2009

Tonite Cuba Canta slightly departs from its usual format. We depart from Cuba proper to pay tribute to Gilberto Calderon, known to the world as Joe Cuba, after all, although a proud Newyorican, he did go by the name of "Cuba". His was one of the more cutting edge groups in the New York Latin music scene for over 20 years. He recently passed away at age 78, ever proud of his beloved Bronx. We will hear early recordings by Cheo Feliciano, Willie Torres and Jimmy Sabater, as well as the evolving sound of the Joe Cuba Sextet.

Another recent passing of note was bassist Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, most recently famous as the foundation of all of the recordings produced under the auspices of the "Buena Vista Social Club". He was much more than that as we pay tribute to Cachaito by playing music he recorded with Orquesta Riverside, Los Zafiros, and other surprises including a selection from his only CD. From Mambo to Jazz, we will hear the astonishing diversity that he so enjoyed being a part of.......

Produced by Emiliano Echeverria
Community Calendar produced by Ron Flores
Engineer Clay "C'Tone" Leander at the controls.

16 February 2009

Tonight we celebrate African-American History Month with Afro-Cuban music. We ride through the Streets of Atzlan and check out the news headlines from the Americas and a guerilla music hoax. We focus on a commentary on Colombia; a special report on Ecuador with independent Journalist, Cyril Mychalejko, about Ecuador's new environmental laws and the struggle of Ecuador's indigenous peoples to protect the environment; and a conversation on Venezuela with San Francisco Consul General, Martin Sanchez. All spiced with Latino music and a calendar of upcoming local events.

10 February 2009

This week the KPFA fund drive special features excerpts from the documentary "The Power of Community – How Cuba Survived Peak Oil", how Cuba, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, responded to their oil crisis with a Green Revolution and agricultural innovations. La Raza Chroniclesreturns with its regular program on February 17th.

We encourage you to donate generously in support of the programing we bring you throughout the year. KPFA offers books, CDs, DVDs, and other premiums for subscribing to the station during the drive, by phone or on the web. Go to the KPFA website at: www.kpfa.org .

Meanwhile, enjoy some previous features from La Raza Chronicles:

August 5, 2008:Vanessa Bohm brings a special report on the Bolivian referendum elections. Julieta Kusnir discusses The International Seventeenth AIDS/HIV Conference in Mexico City with Oscar Raul Lopez the Director of Health Policy at the Latino Commission on AIDS. And Nina Serrano discusses the recent events in El Salvador with Alexis Stoumbolis of CISPES. [more]

April 22, 2008:This program honors Pachamama: Mother Earth, this beautiful planet we must defend against polluters & defilers who are, in part, our very dear selves. Featuring Rafael Jesus Gonzalez' beautiful new poem for Earthday, a report on Immigration by Oscar Hernandez,a commentary by Carlos Munoz Jr. on Cesar Chavez, and special guest Claudia Reyes from Mujeres Unidas y Activas on preparations the May Day celebration. [more...]

Frida Kahlo webcastLa Raza Chronicles presents a special program focusing on the iconic, legendary and revolutionary Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, through conversation, poetry, music and sound mix. Nina Serrano discuses the Frida Kahlo current exhibit at the SF MOMA with curator, John Zarobell; Rafael Jesus Gonzalez recounts his first encounter with a Frida Kahlo painting, and Adrian Arias reads his new Poem “Frida at the Mirror.” Also featuring “La Llorona” in a post-modern version by Omar Sosa and Greg Landau. [more...]

01 February 2009

El Radio Colectivo del Nuevo Siglois an online archive of latino programming produced at KPFA FM, with roots in the originalComunicación Aztlán radio collective of the 1970s based in the San Francisco Mission District. As a prototype, Comunicación Aztlán prompted the formation of other independent media collectives, as well for the establishment of KPFA's Third World Department.

The launch of Radio Colectivo del Nuevo Siglo online archive allows for past and recent programs to be available after broadcast through this site at listeners' convenience over the internet, on iPod, and Mp3 capable cel phones and other mobile devices. More programs will be eventually transferred from its original media and added to this site.

20 January 2009

La Raza Chronicles greets the inauguration of President Obama with hopes for dramatic changes to take this nation from empire to democracy. Tonight's program includes Headlines from the Americas, the Streets of Aztlan, an interview with guest Saul Landau on 50 years of the Cuban Revolution, an interview with Randy Shaw about his new book, "Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century", and a special focus on Latino health and policy. We feature the music of the John Santos Quintet. Produced by Julieta Kusnir, Vanessa Bohm, Ventura Longoria, CTone, Carmen Andrea Rivera and Nina Serrano.

13 January 2009

Tonight, we bring you songs and news headlines from across the Americas; a conversation between guests: "Informatico" Daniel del Solar, and cartoonist Spain Rodriquez , speaking about Rodriquez's newly released comic book on Che Guevara. Poet Rafael Jesus Gonzalez reads his latest poem to la luna, the brightest and fullest of the year. We ride through the Streets of Aztlan with our ears to the ground and our hearts sailing across the airwaves, as we await the great shift of Inauguration Day.